For the Horde
by goingdowninflames
Summary: For too long have the Alliance and the Horde been seen as good and evil. Now, though the endeavors of a few Horde comrades, everyone will see that the Horde and the Alliance are but two forces pitted against each other in war.


Harne Redfur and Barak Longtail leaned against the walls of the trading tent in Bloodhoof, not necessarily talking as much as grunting in approval of statements that each one made. It was a favorite past-time of the two young taurens' to discuss just how vile and weak the species of the Alliance were, and also brag about their dangerous, and often fallacious, endeavors with the dwarves mining to the northwest and the many cougars and wolves east of Thunder Bluff. Today, though they had something to speak of.

To the east, in Camp Narache, a new taruen shaman was coming of age. Word was that this new tauren was already adept in many spells and had been bringing bristleback boar-hides to the camp's chief for nearly a year, a task most young tauren don't dare attempt until they've been trained at least twice by their class trainers. Both Harne and Barak were anxious to meet this new tauren, hoping to recruit and train the rookie to join their group. Anyone with that amount of skill that early in life would be a grand addition to their group. Harne and Barak were not of considerable age themselves, only having been allowed into Bloodhoof village a month ago, and any hopes of being allowed to enter Thunder Bluff were far on the horizon.

Meanwhile, in a slightly decorated home in Camp Narache, a tauren shaman was sitting on a fur mat on the floor, sipping idly at spring water from a pouch. The tauren was staring at the floor before her, blinking as a look of apathy consumed her features. An elder-looking tauren was hustling about the hut, pulling spools of coarse thread and pieces of tanned hides and pulling at her daughter on the ground to stand up for one more measurement. The young shaman sighed.

"Mother, please stop your bustling, we've still got the rest of today and all of tomorrow before the coming of age ceremony. You're already almost finished with the leather robes and I'll go tomorrow morning to get the cougar furs you want to line the back-cloak with… You've got plenty of time so take a break…" Aktala, the young tauren said, taking hold of her mother's shoulders to calm her a bit. Panatu nodded, smiling weakly into her daughter's face.

"I know daughter, but I am simply flustered… you will soon travel to Bloodhoof village, once you've been accepted, and there are centaurs in the wild around Bloodhoof, centaurs! Those creatures are dangerous, no matter how prepared you are… they always travel in two's and if you should get into a battle with them, you're sure to be noticed by the wolf alphas that are near their treading areas and then…" Panatu broke off her thought as Aktala smiled at her mother's concern.

"You've no need to worry, mother. Once I get to Bloodhoof I'll find others to band with and we'll complete Baine Bloodhoof's tasks together… Please do not worry about me, I still have a few things to do around Narache before I leave anyway…" Aktala smiled, embraced her mother briefly, then loped out the entrance and towards the hut to the left of the goods vendor. Aktala slowed her pace, bowing rather graciously to the couple within the tent. Aktala then stepped forth, pulling a leather bag of clinking metal coins to show to the two. Both of the taurens before her nodded and Aktala began her leatherworking and skinning training…

Nearly an hour later and Aktala stepped from the hut, walking over to the good vendor to purchase a skinning knife. She had done all this without alerting her mother. Already she had now chosen to learn her two professions, and she could learn no more with the blessing of her leaders. Walking away from the vendor, Aktala gripping the skinning knife with a grin. Pivoting to go and speak to her mother about her decision, she was interrupted by an elder-looking tauren, pacing about the circle.

"Once you become of age, meet me again near Seer Graytongue's hut to the east…" Aktala caught in her ear as she passed by the old one. She turned about in an attempt to get a closer look at the tauren, but saw that she had gone from sight. She snorted lightly, then cast her eyes up at the skies, noting that they were considerably darker than when she had left her home. She shook her head lightly, then loped home, slipping inside her hut and settling down to sleep… She would want to wake early the next morning to fetch the cougar furs.

Harne and Barak grumbled slightly, pulling themselves from slumber as they strapped on their weapons. As with any coming of age ceremony, those who had had their own ceremony of the like had to bring a gift to the newest recruit, and their gift had to be a symbol of their strength, which would give the newcomer hope in their journeys. The two had decided to fight a swoop, a rather vicious bird capable of knocking you off your feet should you give it the chance. They were to kill the swoop, then take its beak and feathers and fashion a type of ornament for the newcomer to wear. Anyone wearing such ornaments was known to have special luck in life, and seeing as how Harne and Barak wanted to make friends with this new tauren early, this seemed to be the perfect gift.

"When are we… planning to go get the swoop?" Barak asked, his sentence interrupted by a yawn as he stood. Harne yawned as well, though he did not speak amidst it.

"Now, before the sun has fully wakened them… they're vulnerable at dawn…" Said Harne, standing as well as the duo ambled from their hut.

"So, are we swimming through Stonebull Lake this morning or going around?" Barak said, heading in the direction of the banks of the large, somewhat murky lake. Harne nodded toward the lake.

"Let's swim through, it'll wake us up a bit… get our strength up…" Harne said, now rather deep in the water, before diving in fully. With a few strong kicks of their limbs, the two were swimming at a good pace, though Harne began to push it, wanting to work himself up a bit, knowing how much of a challenge a swoop could be when one was not aware. Barak, like always, followed Harne's example.

Reaching the bank, the two shook themselves off. They headed off into the hilly terrain, concentrating on spotting a swoop before it spotted them. Barak flipped his shaman's staff over and over in his hand, running his thumb anxiously over on of the grooves in the solid wood. Harne glanced at his friend offering a jesting grin at his nervousness that seemed to calm Barak a bit.

Harne was a bit older than Barak, and though the two were not blood related, they had become as close as brothers, having been fighting side by side since the two had joined forces long before either of their coming of age ceremonies. It was because of this fact that Barak somewhat disliked the idea of inviting another into their group. He thought it might throw off their balance, or worse yet, Harne would begin to admire this new tauren more than he. But he knew in the face of battle with the Alliance, he would need all the help he could get, so he kept his maw shut.

Harne grinned, a flash of adventure streaking across his amber eyes at the sight of a rather large swoop soaring over the plains, searching for a prairie dog to snatch away for breakfast. The two tauren crept forth slowly, keeping their heads down and their scents blowing opposite the bird. Harne nodded towards Barak, and Barak began gathering the energy to release a lightning ball towards the bird, just as the duo had done so many times before.

Releasing the crackling blue sphere towards the creature, Barak began charging another ball just as Harne charged forth, his axe swinging. Barak grinned and continued aiming lightning balls at the bird, following the strategy they always used. He then began to think, as surge after surge of mana soared towards the swoop, Harne and he would no longer be able to use this strategy, or they would have to tweak it in some way to accomidate the new tauren if they recruited the newcomer. 'This may be the last time I fight alongside Harne and Harne alone…' he thought almost dejectedly. He then snorted and pulsed an amazing amount of power into the lightning bolts, watching his brave friend hack away at the twisting, pecking enemy.


End file.
